A Fey for Valentines Day

Secrets Are What You Make Them

"Sophia-"

"I'm not finished." I reach out and take Alaric's hand in my own. It's warm — so warm compared to Kael's winter chill — and I feel his fingers tremble in mine. "I found the answer to the game. The Sorceress's secret. The answer is that there is no choice. Not the way she makes you believe there is. The answer is far simpler, or not as simple — depending on how you look at it."

Confusion flickers across his face. "What do you mean?"

"This entire thing is rigged. The whole damn game — the choice between light and dark, between you and Kael — it's designed to divide us all against each other, not join us together. If she breaks people apart, then they fail, and she gains more power. If we don't let that happen than she loses."

"Ok, but how?"

I look from Alaric to Kael, then back again. Two brothers. Two princes. Two halves of a whole that had constantly been pulled apart.

"By refusing to choose at all," I reveal. "By choosing each other. All three of us."

Silence falls between us. Alaric stares at me, his eyes searching my face to see if I'm joking, if I'm mocking him. He doesn't find it.

"I'm sorry, what?" He shakes his head, struggling to process. "That's not... That's not possible. No one has ever—"

"One person has," I cut him off. Glancing at Kael, "Isabelle of Provence, in 1324. I saw it in her portrait. Kael saw it too. The secret to winning this twisted game has been there all along."

Alaric's gaze snaps to his brother — accusation, maybe, or betrayal.

"How convenient." His voice is low and threatening.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me," Kael shrugs. "You don't trust anything I say, but I'd hoped you would have the common sense to realize that Sophia has everything to lose, just like us. Why would she lie?"

Alaric pulls his hand from mine and turns away, running his fingers through his hair anxiously. His shoulders tense, his entire body radiating with it.

"I need..." He pauses. Starts again. "I need to think about this. What are you actually proposing Sophia?"

I step closer. He turns his head just enough to see me move over his shoulder.

"I'm proposing that we stop playing her game." I step around him and face him, refusing to let him run from this.

Doesn't he realize I'm trying to save us all.

"I am proposing that instead of competing for my heart, you and Kael work together. That instead of me choosing one of you and leaving the other behind. You allow me to choose both of you, and you both choose me. Then we all leave this place together."

"And what does that look like, exactly?" His voice cracks slightly. "You split your time between us? Alternate nights? Keep us both on a string while you-"

"No." The word is fierce, immediate. "It looks like exactly what I said. I choose you both. My whole heart is given for both of you."

"That's not possible," he whispers.

"Why?" I ask, my voice low and soft. "Why not? Because it's an unorthadoxed concept? Because you were never told it was an option?"

"I just—" he glances at Kael, and a pain crosses his face. "People always choose me because I'm the safe one. Because they can anticipate my reactions. Because I'm not him. To choose us both..."

"Alaric. Listen to me." I reach up and cup his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. "I'm not like other people haven't you realized that by now? I'm choosing you, both of you, because you are both incredible people. You would give up your crown, your lives, for each other. You both carry so much guilt inside you. Neither of you sees how precious you are, how worth fighting for you both are. And that stops tonight."

His breath catches.

"You both," I continue, "deserve to be loved. Not tolerated. Not used. Loved."

He just blinks down at me with wonder in his eyes for a long time. Not moving, barely breathing. Processing.

They, quietly: "What happened in the gallery? With Kael. What did he say-"

With a deep sigh I drop my hands to my side, glancing at Kael and than back to Alaric.

"I think," I say gently, "that's a conversation we need to have. All three of us. But not here." I glance around at the watching crowd, the circling dancers. I can feel the Sorceress's presence lurking somewhere in the shadows. "Not with her listening."

They both follow my gaze, and I see realization settle over them. We were being watched.

"You're right." Alaric straightens, some of that princely composure returning. "We should-"

"There's something else," Kael interrupts, voice low. "Something she found in the gallery that you need to see."

Alaric's eyes fall on me once more, narrowing. "What else did you find?"

Kael and I exchange a glance. The truth about your family's past hanging on those walls.

"Come with us," I urge, taking his hand again. I squeeze his warm fingers, then reach my other hand out to Kael. "We're going to figure out how to break her spell, together."